Parenting

Wednesday, December 17

We've been making our own Christmas ornaments again since we're still in that stage where having store-bought ornaments proves a danger to the ornaments and small children. Last year we stuck with paper. Chains, candles, stars. This year, we're stepping it up a notch to include beads, pipe cleaners, buttons, wire. And probably still paper. Last week, while we were in the beginning stages of illness and confined to our home, we had beaded ornament-making sessions every afternoon. Now that we're still sick, we've moved to buttons, but more on those later. The first picture above includes some ornaments I made, some we made together, and a few the kids made themselves (minus the tying off and making a bow). The second picture is made up primarily of their creations. I hadn't anticipated the kids would be so excited, or at the least satisfied, with merely bending a pipe cleaner and hanging it on the tree. Shows what I know. They're proud of them all and so am I.

Personal Update: Thanks to those of you sticking with me through my sporadic posting. Our computer is still shot. Yes, I'm posting with ESP again. No, not really. I'm using something so old I can't even get the italic function to work. You know we were out of town the entire week of Thanksgiving, came home to a dead computer, all became sick, I spent a long weekend visiting my sister in California (more on that later), came home still sick to a still dead computer, and am now just waiting for our new one to arrive and be installed and whatnot. I really do plan to post more regularly once we have a working computer. Thanks to the new folks who've commented recently. I'll be back. (You can say that like Arnold if you want and I won't think any less of you).

Oh, and by the way, we recently uncovered our baby fingernail clippers, my wedding ring, and our green Thomas the Train wagon. I may have to continue posting my ads publicly if it brings that kind of luck.

I always love to see what you've been up to making! You inspire me. Sorry about your pc...but thats good a new one is on the way. I'm taking a quick break here....just googled plantain/jello but came up with not one recipe. I can't eat bananas but love a ripe plantain...(when the skin turns black, they get sweet). I'm wanting to know how they do in jello but guess I'll just have to try a recipe and find out the hard way. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Lucky Me,Thanks for the empathy. Funny how important computers have become.Maggie Ann,Thanks! And good luck with the plantain jello. I, too, love eating plantains (typically sauteed or maybe pan-fried?) but I can't say I'd be enthused about eating them in jello. Maybe you can report back about that.Susie,You know, my wedding ring stories are never very interesting. I've lost it repeatedly (for long periods of time) and it has ended up somewhere I purposefully put it that I thought I'd remember and never did. I come across it when finally looking for something else I've hidden it with. BUT, the baby fingernail clippers were found in a freezer mug. In the freezer. Hmmm.....